‘Tis the Season for Giving and Helping the Most Vulnerable
Charles Dickens once wrote, “No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.”
It’s an apt quote for this time of the year when our thoughts turn to giving of all sorts—to our loved ones, to the less fortunate, to the causes that we passionately support.
On a more practical level, it’s also a great time to make tax-deductible contributions to reap the benefits at tax time in April.
As you consider your year-end donations, we would like to suggest a few ways to incorporate For The Children into your giving.
Giving the gift of your time
One of the best gifts you can give costs nothing at all, and that’s the gift of your time. We are constantly in need of caring, responsible adults who can serve as mentors to children in foster care who have experienced abuse or neglect.
As a mentor, you help guide a young person through skills mastery and character building. You offer your life story, experience and wisdom. It’s highly rewarding for you and your mentee. And it doesn’t require a huge time commitment—you can meet as little as once a month.
Learn more about our mentoring program here.
We also need volunteers to serve as counselors at our Royal Family KIDS Camps and other events. To find a chapter near you, please visit www.forthechildren.org.
Giving in-kind donations
Are you a business with an inventory of products that can help us better serve children in foster care? Consider making an in-kind donation!
For The Children recently received a generous donation of toys from Mattel and its employees for 100 children in need across the country. (Thank you to everyone at Mattel!).
Children love toys, of course. We would also welcome donations of school supplies, new clothing (especially coats and jackets), shoes, beds, backpacks, and computers (especially laptops and gaming devices).
Remember that in-kind donations are tax deductible, up to the fair market value of the goods you’re donating.
To make an in-kind donation, please contact us at hello@forthechildren.org.
Giving cash contributions
Cash grants give us the greatest flexibility to fulfill our mission to build a world that is free of family-induced childhood trauma.
Now is a particularly good time to give cash. That’s because a special law is allowing more people to deduct up to $600 in donations to charities even when they don’t itemize on their 2021 federal income tax returns.
In most cases, taxpayers who take the standard deduction cannot claim a deduction for charitable contributions. But the new law allows people who don’t itemize their deductions to claim up to $300 for cash donations made to charities during 2021; married couples can claim $600.
For taxpayers who itemize their deductions, you now have the ability to claim charitable donations made with cash up to 100% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). Previously, it was restricted to 20%-60% of your AGI. This means you can give more in 2021 than in other years to get the maximum tax benefit.
So, there’s no better time to donate to For The Children! Click here to make a contribution to our year-end fundraising campaign, Free to Thrive.
Our goal is to raise $500,000 so we can have 500 FTC chapters, representing all 50 U.S. states. Your support means we can bring more hope and love to the most vulnerable children.
Give so we can build resilient communities together
As part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, companies are increasingly investing in local communities as opposed to global causes. We saw this at the height of the pandemic when corporations and foundations were seeking to make an immediate impact with their donation dollars.
At FTC, it’s our firm belief that childhood trauma is at the root of so many of our social ills, from homelessness to drug addiction to sex trafficking. Therefore, companies that want to invest in their communities should seriously consider making an investment in FTC and support our efforts to mitigate the long-term effects of childhood trauma.
For the sake of children who have been abused and neglected, and for the sake of your own communities, please donate today.
